Tape drives are widely used for storing information in a digital form. These tape drives commonly use a storage tape having a thin film of magnetic material which receives the information. Typically, the storage tape is moved between a pair of spaced apart reels, past a data transducer to record or read back information from the storage tape.
In one type of tape drive, one of the reels is part of the tape drive, while the other reel is part of a removable cartridge. For this type of tape drive, the reel that is a part of the tape drive is commonly referred to as a take-up reel, while the reel that is a part of the cartridge is commonly referred to as a cartridge reel. With this system, upon insertion of the cartridge into the tape drive, it is necessary to couple the storage tape on the cartridge reel to the take-up reel of the tape drive. Subsequently, the storage tape must be uncoupled from the take-up reel, prior to removing the cartridge from the tape drive system.
Typically, a cartridge leader on the storage tape is automatically coupled to a drive leader that is connected to the take-up reel during insertion of the cartridge into the tape drive. The procedure of connecting the drive leader with the cartridge leader is commonly referred to as "buckling" or "coupling". Subsequently, during ejection of the cartridge, the cartridge leader is unbuckled from the drive leader.
FIG. 1A illustrates a prior art cartridge leader 10P coupled to a prior art drive leader 12P. In this embodiment, the cartridge leader 10P includes a hoop 14P and a notch 16P, while the drive leader 12P includes a mushroom shaped tab 18P having a nose 20P and a neck 22P. The hoop 14P is dimensioned to enable the nose 20P and the neck 22P of the drive leader 12P to pass therethrough. The notch 16P is dimensioned to receive the neck 22P, but prevent the nose 20P from passing therethrough.
FIG. 1B illustrates a prior art buckler 24P that automatically couples the prior art cartridge leader 10P of a cartridge 26P to the prior art drive leader 12P. With this system, the prior art buckler 24P has a single, finger type hook 28P that fits into a drive leader aperture 30P (illustrated in FIG. 1A) in the drive leader 12P. The buckler 24P also includes a protrusion 32P that deflects the nose 20P towards the cartridge 26P. The buckler 24P rotates to couple and uncouple the drive leader 12P to the cartridge leader 10P. Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,662,049 and 4,720,913 provide a detailed discussion of this type of tape buckling arrangement.
Unfortunately, this type of tape buckling arrangement is not completely satisfactory. More specifically, over time, the protrusion 32P can permanently deform the nose 20P of the drive leader 12P. As a result thereof, the drive leader 12P may have difficulty passing along the tape path to the take-up reel.
In light of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an easy and accurate way to reliably couple and de-couple a storage tape of a cartridge to a take-up reel of a tape drive. Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved buckler and buckle for a tape drive. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a tape drive that is compatible with prior art cartridges. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a tape drive system having a buckler and buckle that are relatively easy and cost efficient to manufacture and utilize.